BK Liepāja, known as Betsafe/Liepāja for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club in Liepāja, Latvia playing in the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League and Latvian Basketball League.
BK Liepāja | |||
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Leagues | Latvian–Estonian Basketball League Latvian Basketball League | ||
Founded | 1991 | ||
History | Liepājas Metalurgs Baltika/Kaija BK Liepāja Līvu alus/Liepāja Liepājas Lauvas Betsafe/Liepāja BK Liepāja | ||
Arena | Liepāja Olympic Center | ||
Capacity | 2542 | ||
Location | Liepāja, Latvia | ||
Team colors | Dark blue, white and black | ||
President | Āris Ozoliņš | ||
Team manager | Normunds Atvars | ||
Head coach | Artūrs Visockis-Rubenis | ||
Website | liepajasbasketbols.lv | ||
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Liepāja team's greatest achievement in Latvian Basketball League came in 1997 when it won second place. It has also come in third in 2000, 2011, 2012, and 2023.[1]
History
editBasketball team in the city of Liepāja was first founded in 1991, just after Latvia regained independence from Soviet Union. During the years team changed names, according to sponsorships. Previous team names were Liepājas Metalurgs, Baltika/Kaija, BK Liepāja, Līvu alus/Liepāja, Liepājas Lauvas, Liepāja/Triobet.
In May 2018, the team was reorganized into Liepājas Basketbols with the goal of creating a unified basketball system for Liepāja for junior and professional player development.[2] The team announced the beginning of its sponsorship by Betsafe following Betsson's decision to merge the Triobet brand, which previously sponsored BK Liepāja, into that brand.[1]
Since 2020, with the hiring of Latvian National team assistant and 2018 FIBA U18 European Championship silver medalist Artūrs Visockis-Rubenis as their head coach, BK Liepāja focuses on building teams around new talents.
In 2021/2022 season BK Liepāja made their international debut, competing in newly founded European North Basketball League. Liepāja won one of five games and finished the tournament at 5th place.
During the 2022/2023 season Liepāja won the bronze medal in Latvian league. Many players established themselves for the next level. After an excellent season with Liepāja, Kārlis Šiliņš signed in German Bundesliga. Renārs Birkāns signed with 10-time Latvian champion BK Ventspils.
Players
editCurrent roster
editBK Liepāja roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated: December 16, 2024 |
Depth chart
editSeason by season
editNotable players
editReferences
edit- ^ a b ""Liepāja"/"Triobet" pārtop par "Betsafe"/"Liepāja"". irliepaja.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 2024-12-17.
- ^ "Ate papildina "Liepājas basketbols" komandas rindas" (in Latvian). IRLiepaja.lv. 22 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
External links
edit- Official website (in Latvian)